Voracity
by Symphony of Imagination
Summary: They were once one of the most powerful missing-nins in all of history. But now, they were common cats - or kittens, so be exact. Why did life have to be so cruel? AU. Sequel to: Of Puppets and Love. Optional reading.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its affiliated products. **

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.:Prologue:.

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The Akatsuki base was void of noise, unnaturally so. Uchiha Itachi scanned the room, his onyx-colored eyes drinking in every single detail, from the twitch on Hidan's pale face, to the glaringly obvious seals placed on the floor of the large, circular room, its grey walls looming in a ghostly manner over the eight members. The floor was a shade of brown, the color dull and muddy. It was utterly lifeless, perfectly right for what was about to happen in the next few minutes. Itachi felt a pang of guilt shoot through his now-numb heart. He didn't want to do this, but he had to. To protect his otouto, his little brother Sasuke. An unnoticeable, amused and wry twist came to his thin lips, the lower part of his chiseled face covered by the high-collared Akatsuki cloak. ___The things I do for you, little brother._

Pein (or Nagato, Itachi frowned) stepped into his line of sight. Immediately, as if a switch had been flicked on, the others stood stock still, rising from their slouched over positions or from the floor. Following him in a graceful manner came Konan, her blue hair in its usual knot, the delicate paper rose in place. She nodded at him, an oh-so-light quirk to her pink lips. He inclined his head in return. Next to him, Kisame's mouth twitched, fighting off a grin and a comment. Itachi was tempted to roll his eyes at his partner's immaturity, but thought better of it and decided to pay his fullest attention to the orange-haired man standing in front of them.

"I hope," started Pein in his deep and commanding voice, calm purple-ringed eyes staring them all down in a matter of seconds, "that you all know why we are here right now and why." Half of them nodded, having heard about it in person by the leader or Konan, his partner and second in charge. Deidara, Hidan and Tobi – the younger Uchiha forced his anger down; ___Madara _knew, but Tobi didn't, and it was amusing to see him keep up the idiotic act – shook their heads in confusion and ___slight _indignation, however.

"How did they get to know, un?" demanded Deidara, a trace of anger hidden in his voice, blue eyes narrowed into catlike slits. "Why weren't _we _informed as well, yeah?" He shot an annoyed glare at Itachi, the nearest one of the other members. Itachi dipped his head in response, looking as if he could care less about this, which he did.

Hidan nodded vigorously, his jaw muscle jumping rapidly. Tobi, in the meanwhile, was staring at the seals, looking every bit of the amazed little boy he was acting out. "Hell yeah, I want to know why the fuck we weren't told, and these bastards were!" yelled the Jashinist, shaking his fist obnoxiously.

Pein sighed, pinching the bridge of his pierced nose in mild annoyance. He impatiently gestured to Konan, who shook her head, and stepped ahead to explain to the three – ___or two, _cut in Itachi's thought process.

"Pein and I were thinking about other methods of capturing the jinchuuriki and extracting their bijuu," began Konan in her soft yet strict voice, "and then, we thought about modifying the Summoning jutsu to actually send the user to the victim's location. It would be painfully easy to knock the person out if you appeared when … say, they were asleep. And then, to get back, they could use the technique again, focusing on any member in the base. All that the user needed to know would be the chakra signature, and I'm___ sure _that you all know your target's signatures by now." Itachi raised an eyebrow at her in amusement and sarcasm. "The jutsu is complete, but all it needs is testing. That, is why we called you all here." Konan primly finished, an undertone of entertainment noticeable.

Deidara looked scandalized. "You mean we're guinea pigs, un?" he howled, nearly snapping his finger bones as he fisted his hands. His mouth hands struggled, the tongue poking out from the opening in the fisted hand. Deidara roughly curled his hand and shoved the tongue back in, an irate expression on his young face.

"What the _fuck_, Leader?" said Hidan loudly, moving forward, but silenced as Kisame suddenly burst into heavy, uncontrolled laughter. "What the fuck are you laughing at, fish-face?"

Sasori, previously hidden and unnoticed, smirked as he came into view. "You, of course; the guinea pigs, as the brat kindly dubbed yourselves as. Leader wouldn't use his most prized members first, after all."

Itachi smirked slightly at the looks of utter incredulity on their faces. Pein growled in irritation, bringing all the eyes on him at once. "Deidara, get in that sealing circle, _now_. Everyone else, get back."

Deidara, still clearly miffed but thankfully still smart enough to obey Pein, reluctantly shuffled into the intricate circle. Konan shot him an apologetic look as she moved to stand behind Pein, who was close, but not in range of the seals. "What now, un?" snapped the blonde, his arms crossed.

"You form the regular handsigns for a Summoning jutsu, but replace the monkey's seal with a hare. Focus all your chakra on … Itachi, let's say." Said Uchiha narrowed his eyes at this, mildly irked. ___How quaint. I am a test subject. _"Try to teleport to him, and don't explode anything while you're at it, Kakuzu will throw a fit." Pein smirked.

The masked-nin with Christmas-colored eyes pursed his lips, vexed. Deidara, however, frowned. Art was a bang, and anyway, they had a lot of money and those couches were ___ugly. _They needed to be replaced.

Sasori sighed. "Art is, and always will be, eternal, brat. I know what you're thinking. And hurry up. We haven't got all day."

"Art is a bang, un!" growled Deidara under his breath, looking at his almost fully covered feet as he formed the handsigns, taking extra care not to mess it up horribly, or mess it up at all. But his mind was still on Sasori, how the man annoyed him and how his Danna was ___wrong _about art. Art was fleeting, like life, not eternal. It wouldn't be precious if it was eternal, it would be taken for granted. An explosion was swift, but it would be remembered, because it would be seen, then gone in the next second.

Deidara winced, biting his thumb, as he finished the last seal. Then, remembering Pein's warning, tried to steer all of his stubborn thoughts on the infuriating Uchiha standing away from him. One-half focused on Itachi, the other still bent on criticizing Sasori. His bright blue eyes widened in absolute horror and desperation as he felt a very violent tug at his navel, trying to push his chakra on Itachi's signature, but it was too late, and he had instinctively slammed his hand onto the ground, blood already leaking from being bitten a second ago. ___Shit. I'm so screwed, un!_

A yell came from his right, sounding suspiciously similar to Hidan's voice.___"Holy fuck, Uchiha, Puppet boy! What the hell's happening to you?" _And the terrified look on Konan's face was the last thing he saw before a loud explosion, rocking the ground violently, the vibrations going through his frozen body, reached his ears, his eyesight blurring and the world turning dark. He blacked out, landing on the floor with a loud thump, praying that he would remain intact and wake up the next day. Another explosion, before everything went silent.

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_Ahuze: _**Hello! This is a collaboration between **_Ahuze_ **and **_Mystic Shadow Demon_**, a sort of alternate universe-like sequel to "Of Puppets and Love." You really might wanna read that first, even though there won't be any plotlines from that fanfiction in this. But, just recommending. Mystic is currently busy (sorta, I didn't do anything to her!) so I took it upon moiself to write the AN. Expect her to be there in the next chapter's AN. Please read and review, you don't know how _much_ that means to us. :) Weekly updates, by the way. Most probably on Sundays. Yay! R&R! And hope you like.**


	2. Chapter I

_Recap: A yell came from his right, sounding suspiciously similar to Hidan's voice. "Holy fuck, Uchiha, Puppet boy! What the hell's happening to you?" And the terrified look on Konan's face was the last thing he saw before a loud explosion, rocking the ground violently, the vibrations going through his frozen body, reached his ears, his eyesight blurring and the world turning dark. He blacked out, landing on the floor with a loud thump, praying that he would remain intact and wake up the next day. Another explosion, before everything went silent._

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.: I :.

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Pain. That was all he felt. Pain and bitter cold biting at his skin. Or was that just the pitter-patter of the rain that coincidentally fell on them, drowning them in further misery?

Sasori did not know, nor did he care to. He was focused on one thing and one thing only: mangling and maiming Deidara. With that thought in mind, he angrily turned to the hissing he heard (very clearly, even clearer than he normally did, but he did not notice due to the anger), opening his mouth to give said blond Hell. But what actually came into view as he turned had left him speechless, his jaw left hanging open.

The redhead's partner clutched his ears with his small, fluffy paws, trying to stop the pounding in his head. "Aghh…that hurt…un…"

Opening his eyes, Deidara lifted his head slightly so that he could examine his surroundings to see if the jutsu worked. But all he saw was an orange tinted red American Shorthair cat. He turned his head at a slight angle, wondering whose cat that was. Maybe it was a ninja cat that was sneaking around in the Akatsuki base trying to obtain information. But where was its ninja forehead protector? And why was it staring at him with those horrified chocolate…brown…eyes…?

As realization slowly seeped in, he watched the cat bring its paws to its face, to examine it more carefully. Suddenly, he saw the same cat snarling in his face as it pinned him down on the pavement, the rough rock biting into his furry back. Even when he was condemned to a small feline body, he managed to be lightning fast – or maybe even faster.

"What did you do to me, brat?" he scowled.

There was no denying it. That trademark nickname confirmed it; this cat was Sasori.

Slowly, he craned his neck so that he could get a small view of his own body. Only to see light yellow fur covering every inch of him. He wanted to scream in horror, to demand Pein about what happened to them, but right now, he had more important matters to worry about. Staying alive.

At this rate, the ex-redhead would crush Deidara's windpipe. Luckily, or unluckily –Deidara couldn't tell–, Itachi intervened just as he was making strangled gagging sounds as Sasori's claws dug into his furry neck.

"Sasori, we need Deidara alive. He would have to be our…guinea pig again, when we figure out what went wrong."

Miraculously, the weight on the blond cat was lifted, the other's claws retracted and away from his bleeding neck. His paw lightly caressed the bleeding area in a gesture of comfort for the pain. It helped slightly, though the growl beside him crushed all hopes of safety, even if Itachi was there to hold Sasori back. The cold rain helped sooth the burning pain on his 'wounds', but it was tortuously chilling him to the bone elsewhere. With a shiver, he rolled onto his side and propped himself upright, looking at the two other cats, seeing that Itachi had transformed into a cat with a sleek black coat and misty yet dark grey eyes.

"W-we need to find shelter, un, f-f-fast."

Pure anger flared in Sasori's auburn eyes. _"Itachi and I _need to find shelter. _You _can stay here and freeze to death, brat."

It was clear that his danna wasn't going to forgive him any time soon, after a fatal mistake such as that. But Deidara could only sigh heavily. "Danna…"

With one last glare shot in his direction, Sasori turned to inspect the area they were transported in, noting that they were not in the Akatsuki base, that much was for sure. But as he looked around, he was starting to doubt that it was even their world.

Not only were these roads…strange…with cracks occurring every so often, and white paint all over the road, some of it small and in a vertical line, the other making arrows and pointing elsewhere, but the surroundings were peculiar as well. There were dark grey metal poles jutting out of them, and with the light coming out from the top of them, he safely assumed that it was a light source. Though, there was a strange one far in the distance, he could see, with his newly acquired cat eyes. Unlike the others who all had the same color, this one was hanging in the middle, being dangled in the middle of the road, and was on the color green. Sasori blinked in confusion as a vehicle of some sort rolled by on wheels and slowed down as the light turned yellow, then stopped all movement completely as the light was now red. There were also a few buildings around them, but they looked nothing as of what he's seen throughout his whole thirty-five years. They were large, and looked worn down, but were definitely more advanced than the buildings he was accustomed to. Much more taller, as well.

Though, one particularly stood out to him. It was much taller and wider than the rest, white as marble, with many glass windows decorating the plain walls. There was a pair of glass door at what seemed to be the entrance, and he saw a young woman exiting to the outside from the inside of the building. It resembled the hospitals he saw in Konoha, only in a much more refined and larger version. Not to mention, much more advanced-looking.

"Itachi," he addressed, looking towards said cat.

The Uchiha seemed to be fixated on the same exact building Sasori was inspecting, and he knew that they were both operating on the same idea. With the nod he received from the midnight black cat, his suspicions were confirmed. He looked back to his partner, who seemed to be…nowhere near him. With an aggravated sigh, he turned around in a 360 angle, hoping that they'd spot him before he ends up getting lost in this strange world they found themselves in.

To his slight relief –even though he was feeling like maiming his partner, _Pein _would maim _him _if they lost him (if they ever got back, he sullenly added)– he saw a swishing blond tail peeking out of what seemed like a garbage bin. What was he doing? Sasori's cat eyes narrowed in irritation, looking more cat-like than ever. Wobbly walking over to him, he stopped just a few feet away.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The sound of clattering and metal banging against each other stopped, much to the red cat's pleasure. A scruffy head peeked out from the bin, something peeking out from his mouth. It resembled…a set of…fish…bones? He gracefully leapt down from the bin, managing to land on his feet. He set whatever was in his mouth down on the ground for the other two cats to examine.

"Fish bones?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. How he managed to do that even as a cat was an unknown mystery.

"We do need to eat, Itachi," Deidara reasoned, already licking the top of the skull. Sasori made a face of utter disgust, looking out of place on his now-cute and furry face.

"Out of the _dumpster?" _Even if they are—were—Missing nin, and weren't used to the rich and extravagant food the rest of the world had to offer, they were still dignified enough to not eat out of the trash, much like what Deidara was doing now. It was disgusting and demeaning. But then again, even the idea of eating made Sasori sick to the stomach, a nauseating feeling he didn't like. At all.

"Why not, un? We need to survive." Deidara narrowed his sky-blue-turned-light eyes at them. "We're nothing more than alley cats now," he licked the fish head a couple of times, savoring the taste by licking his lips, "might as well live like one."

"Not as long as _I_ live," Sasori hissed, revolted by the idea that he was once a brilliant ninja who was renowned and feared throughout all of the Five Nations, only to succumb to a lowly alley cat. Not even human! Though, he adduced that he would still be just as disgusted and infuriated at this transformation even if he had been turned human instead of a cat.

Itachi nodded in agreement with the red cat, eyes still on the fish as if it were the most repulsive thing he had encountered in all his life. Deidara only shrugged at the two's distaste. He was taught that survival was everything, and if living meant eating from the trash, he'd take it over dying. Besides, the fish wasn't even that dirty in the first place. It was still fresh. As fresh as dead fish can be, anyway.

"Whatever. More for me, yeah." The cat rolled his eyes at his company before resuming his meal.

As much as Sasori would love to never experience the feeling of having to eat something ever again, he couldn't help but feel his stomach constricting in pain and protesting to his desires, demanding food. With a sigh, he turned his back on Deidara, looking towards the hospital building instead.

"While you're doing that, Itachi and I will find some _real _food…"

"W-what? You'd rather go with scum like him instead of your own partner, un? You're horrible, Sasori-no-danna." Deidara frowned, looking more like a pout than anything with that cat face of his. He avoided looking at Itachi, knowing that an annoyed stare was being directed to him.

Itachi lightly shook his head at the light blond cat, making his way towards the direction of the gigantic hospital. As much as he would hate to admit it, he was feeling extremely hungry, especially with the two artists bickering at the slightest of things. It was draining him of energy, along added with his already failing health. And he would like to have some food. _Now ._Already figuring out how to maneuver himself in this feline body, he gracefully made it out of the alley way. Before he could step off of the pavement to a more darker shade of the road with yellow lines cutting across occasionally, he was stopped by a louder yell from what seemed to be Sasori's voice.

"Itachi!"

Turning his head to see what was the matter, he stopped walking, just before he felt a rushing wind pass him. With slightly wide eyes, he looked back to see what caused it. His ears twitched as they picked up what sounded like the soft patter of footsteps coming towards him. A strange looking vehicle was moving a high speeds with a roaring sound trailing after it. His tail twitched in agitation; was he that hungry as to not have been focused enough to hear something as _loud_ as that? He hoped that his hunger wouldn't hinder him in the future.

"What _is _that thing?" Deidara stared after it, even as it grew smaller and disappeared from the road.

"Itachi, you almost got hit. Be more careful," Sasori bluntly stated. "I don't want to be stuck with _him _for the rest of this…trip." He gestured towards Deidara, slightly scrunching his nose, looking like the perfect stubborn kitty.

Itachi could only nod slightly at this. "Looks as if we have to be much more careful in this world, especially now that we cannot even defend ourselves in this…body…"

With that said, the three carefully crossed the road, with more difficulty from Sasori than the other two. He growled from impatience. How he hated having this atrocious body, or any body that was not a puppet one. He had long forgotten how to use a human body, much less a feline. Moving in this small, petite form was proving to be a challenge. Particularly so when he was beginning to feel the pain and fatigue of not eating for a year, along with the fact that it was starting to rain harder, the cold water sticking to his fur. However, there was at least one more gain from their trip across the road. They noticed that whenever the light turned green, the vehicles would zip past them, threateningly to crush their small bodies. But whenever it illuminated yellow, they always slowed down and then stop completely when it was red, only to move again when it was green. Using this to their advantage, they slowly crossed whenever the light turned red.

"That must be some way of telling them when to stop or go," Itachi noted.

"That's stupid, un. I don't see why. And what are those things anyway? Cat killers, un?" Deidara's voice was dripping with detest and sarcasm.

"Whatever they are, it's best to avoid them." Sasori's lips twisted in a smirk. "I don't want our guinea pig to die so easily. Yet."

Self-dubbed guinea pig narrowed his eyes at the orange-tinted red cat. He opened his mouth to retort, but was intervened by the Uchiha, who was not looking forward to another bickering argument from these two.

"We have to find some way to get into the building."

They made it to what they had guessed to be the lawn, which looked just about dead in this weather. The grass didn't even look remotely green, Deidara frowned in distaste. He wondered if it was supposed to be like this on this alien planet they found themselves on. Tearing his gaze away from the sight before he started to tear the lawn himself, his gaze landed on the handles of the glass doors. Then he looked back at his paw, lifting it up. Nope, no thumbs to open something like that.

"…What now, un?"

"We need someone to open it for us…" Sasori looked around for something, but when it seemed to be nowhere in sight, he turned his gaze back to the smooth glass doors. "We should wait for someone to open it for us, then sneak inside."

With two confirmation nods, the three cats started to advance towards the bush large enough to shelter the them.

Until one of the doors swung open, nearly hitting Deidara on the face.

"Uwahhh!"

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Akihiko was a very happy child. He had an adorable smile plastered on his small face twenty four-seven, a tad chubby and very childlike. Warmth and brightness practically radiated from him whenever and wherever he went, his small feet waddling more than walking. One step for an adult would be four for him; he was _that_ tiny for his age. The six-year old had just exited his momma's room. The nice doctor had told him that his momma was well, and that he was going to have another sibling soon. Akihiko was the epitome of excitement and joy, and the doctor had told him to go and ask the nice lady at the reception to call his daddy – the piece of paper was scrunched up in his small hand, the number written in a neat scrawl – and to tell him to come to the hospital, very fast. Though, his momma had started groaning in pain, and he didn't want to leave, but the other nurse had taken him by the hand and now, they were walking to the reception.

The lady, whose name was Ai-chan, had told him nicely, had been talking non-stop for the past two minutes, as they went past yet another room, this one with a different plate number, the lights on inside, a strange closet right next to it. Akihiko's feet were starting to hurt, and the lady was _still_ talking, so now his ears hurt too. He scrunched up his face, rubbing at his left ear, the right arm still in the lady's grasp. Her nails were too long. Momma had told him that it was hygienic or something to cut your nails, so why didn't the nurse cut them? Weren't nurses s'posed to be _clean?_

He voiced this out loud, and didn't understand why her face suddenly turned from its overly enthusiastic pink to a dark red. Akihiko also didn't understand why the lady was shoving him quickly to the receptionist, bolting to somewhere else right after.

"Why did the lady run?" he questioned the receptionist, who was fighting a smile and a giggle. She shook her head.

"It's nothing, Akihiko-chan. Now, what did you need?" she asked, her tone much more sweeter and lower than Ai-chan.

He handed her the strip of wrinkled paper, standing on his toes to reach her hand, which was easily going over the big, big, big desk. "The doctor told me to tell you to call my daddy. He said momma was going to deliver something."

The receptionist let out a laugh, ruffling his hair as she stood up, grabbing a file and picking up the phone. Her smile grew at the child's innocence. "Alright, Aki-chan, why don't you wait here for a moment? I'll take you back to mommy's room when I'm done calling, okay?" Akihiko nodded.

As her attention diverted from him, focused on finding something in her file, Akihiko started towards the door silently, his small stature helping him go unnoticed. He could see a few small furry things outside the almost transparent door, and he hurried over, opening the door – the receptionist had bent over, her head down and fingers searching in the drawers – and looking down.

"Uwahhh!" he squealed, making the receptionist jump behind him and almost knock herself out as she hit the desk violently with her head. She groaned, clutching the back of her head in pain. "Kitties!"

There were three of them – all soaked in the rain, one a very light color with light blue eyes, the fluffiest of them all; the second was a reddish-brown kitty, with big brown eyes; the last one looked a little mean, with gray eyes and very shiny black fur. They all looked up at him, the black one making a face that Akihiko could not understand. Can kitties even make such a face? Akihiko had to wonder.

The receptionist ran over to him, also noticing the kitties. Her heart melted, and she grabbed them all up, gesturing for Akihiko to get inside, as she shut the doors and grabbed a few spare towels from the nearby closet, ruffling them all with it. She sat down in her chair.

"You poor things, you must be pretty hungry, huh? You're so skinny!" But, Akihiko thought in confusion, wasn't that because the fur was flattened? Daddy had told him that all kitties were skinny when their fur was flat. Though, the lady looked happy, so Akihiko didn't tell her. Maybe he could ask daddy to tell her, instead?

The brown-haired lady placed them on her chair, standing up. "Aki-chan, stay here and play with them till I fetch some food for them, okay?" she said, smiling warmly. Akihiko nodded, a bright smile of his own lighting up his face.

"Uh huh, I'll play with them!" He grinned, looking at the kitties who were curled up and licking themselves. He made a 'yucky' face, finding the idea of licking yourself disgusting. Weren't people supposed to clean by washing themselves? Maybe kitties were different, since they usually didn't wear clothes either. The lady laughed, ruffling his hair as she headed towards yet another door, this one metallic and the smell of food coming from it.

"Hi-hi, I'm Akihiko!" said he, poking the yellow-ish kitty. It seemed to deflate, gently biting his finger. He pouted, tapping it on the head. "Bad girl!" The red and black kitties twitched, almost if they were stifling a laugh. Akihiko frowned. "Hey, that's mean." He picked up the yellow-ish kitty, hugging it tightly. It yowled loudly, hitting him with its paws, but strangely, not using its claws. Maybe it liked him. Brightening up even more at that thought, Akihiko picked up the other two kitties, who copied the girl kitty, except that the black one only hit him once, before giving up. It was like he was too bored to do that. However, the red kitty hissed as he crushed them tighter, now sliding out his claws.

Akihiko yelped, dropping them immediately, barely dodging the bad kitty. The black and yellow-ish kitty jumped away from him, the red-brown one leading them. A moment flickered by, and they were gone. Akihiko frowned, a large pout on his face as the receptionist returned, a paper bag in her hands. She blinked, her head rearing back.

"Where did the kitties go?"

"They ran away!" cried Akihiko, tears welling up his eyes. The lady tutted, setting the slightly damp bag on the corner of the desk, picking him up and hushing him, kittens forgotten.

* * *

Deidara gave a long sigh of relief. "That brat was annoying! He nearly crushed the remains of my windpipe, un!"

He shot a look at Sasori, eyes narrowing and ears flattening on his skull. His danna ignored him, looking all around him. They had _fortunately_ escaped the little boy, though now they had no idea where they were. The hallway wasn't too bright, with several doors on either side, and the other two were losing energy and slouching, but Deidara had eaten a little and was on average footing. He frowned, deciding to take lead for now, going to the nearest room, which had a metallic closet next to it. It was the only room which was unlocked, by the light inside, and the slight loose handle. They, as S-ranked criminals had learned to be very observant wherever they went. And Sasori-no-danna and the Uchiha were sort of useless now, as they were panting, their stomachs growling loudly. He snickered.

"I told you to eat, un," he told them, amusement in his tone. He dodged a red paw heading for his face, a kitty-grin on his face as he darted inside the room, pushing the door open. It opened surprisingly easily, but, Sasori pondered as his brat entered, them following behind. It was probably for patients who were extremely frail. The room was bright, a huge contrast to the dull hallways. It looked personalized, even, with the walls a nice shade of amber, the side-tables carrying chocolates and books, the bed itself looking very comfortable.

"Strange room," murmured Itachi from beside him. The hospitals in their world had secure locks on the patient's door; who knew when a nin might come to kill the patient, grudge or not? That, and it was much more bland. With the way this room was personalized, one would think that the patient occupying it had the idea of settling in. For a longgg time, too, from the looks of it. There was a strange black contraption on the wall, which had a black rim and several flat buttons on the side, a screen of sorts in the middle.

On the bed was a girl, probably in her very-late teens, with long black hair and azure blue eyes. She had a pretty face, and her gaze immediately snapped to them, raising an eyebrow. Another girl, this one with the darkest shade of brown hair, the bangs pinned up, and very lightly tanned skin and gray eyes. Her eyes had an amused twinkle, as she followed her companion's line of sight, her eyes resting on them. She was sitting on a plastic chair next to the raven-haired girl's bed.

With a jolt, Sasori noticed that the latter was missing an arm.

"Poor girl, un," spoke Deidara from his left. Itachi inclined his head in agreement.

"Oh, look – kittens," said the dark-brunette, smiling as she got up and picked up Itachi, her grip much more looser than the little boy's bear hug-like hold. "Ain't they cute, Hoshi?"

The other female, Hoshi, nodded, a small smirk on her face. "Mhm. I wonder how these little critters managed to get in the hospital, in the first place. Sneaky." She brushed her bangs out of her face with her right arm. Deidara winced, remembering the little boy again. Sasori winced, too. But Itachi had a feeling that it wasn't because of the memory of the boy.

"Freaking nightmare, un..." muttered Deidara under his breath. As if on cue, the other two Akatsuki-turned-kittens' tummies rumbled loudly, making the unknown girl laugh out loud, picking them all up and depositing them on the edge of bed.

At Hoshi's demanding look, she answered sheepishly, "They look pretty clean, and they were in the rain, looking from their damp fur..." Hoshi sighed, nodding.

"Just this once. Feed them, and kick them out or something." Sasori growled. "Oh, be quiet, you furball. I don't wanna take a bunch of cats to my house – and it's just when I'm about to go back home as well," she groaned, slapping her forehead with her single arm. "Or maybe not. Who knows, maybe it'd be pretty entertaining..."

"Er, right." The other girl was rummaging in her backpack for something or the other, and a moment later, she emerged, looking victorious, with a Ziploc bag of sandwiches. "Here, it's just chicken and bread, so you won't die if you eat it. Probably."

"Mayu, you're an idiot."

"Thanks," replied Mayu brightly, plopping down on her behind immediately, shuffling the chair closer and petting Deidara. "Anyway, I'm taking these buggers home!" She grinned brightly, showing her obvious excitement. "I've always wanted a kitten – or three – but those pet shops never had a nice kitten in stock. And you're not saying no – I'll take care of them, kapiche?" She gave the darker haired girl a pointed look.

Hoshi snickered. "You sound like a businessman, Mayu. _In stock. _And…whatever, just keep them away from the couch!_"_

Her blunt statement caused Itachi and Sasori to pause, frozen with their mouths reaching for the sandwiches. Deidara snickered. "Alley cat no more, un, Danna?"

He smirked at the redhead from his position on Mayu's lap. He was perfectly fine with being a domesticated cat until they managed to turn back into humans. Or puppet, in Sasori's case. They got free food, shelter and not to mention, Deidara hated the sticky feel to his fur. He needed a bath.

Sasori sent him a venomous glare, unfreezing and taking a large mouthful of the sandwich. Itachi, on the other hand, was frowning as he took small, refined bites, looking unusual as a cat. He did _not_ like being a pet. It was utterly degrading and humiliating. Especially from his high status of when he was a ninja. What ever happened to all of that?

A loud knock rang throughout the room, making Mayu yelp, jumping up and stuffing Deidara roughly into her bag, ignoring his irritated meows. Sasori smirked in triumph. _Idiotic blond brat. Served him right, being so disrespectful to his superiors._

But then, Hoshi grabbed him and shoved him under the blankets, pulling an extra pillow and plopping it over him, hiding the bulge. Mayu laughed.

"The things I do for you, Mayu," remarked Hoshi, raising an eyebrow as Itachi got up by himself and went under the bed, dragging the sandwich along. The black-haired Uchiha preferred not being cramped in a bag or under the blanket. And since he was fully black and ridiculously small, he could just hide under the shadows of the bed; also, he was able to eat while hiding. And the sooner he ate, the faster he'd have his energy back. He had noticed, however, that he didn't feel the pressure he usually did. Had the disease been rejected from his body, as he was now a cat? It could be possible. It was a comforting thought, and almost made him want to stay a feline. He rejected the desire of his body to shudder at the thought of him growing to actually like the idea. The faster they turned back to humans, the better.

The door opened, stopping all conversation, and a nurse came stumbling inside, looking a bit irate. She turned her head to look at Hoshi, scrutinizing her carefully. "Well, Arai-san, you're good to go. Just take care, alright? If you ever feel any pain in the cut-off area, come back here immediately." She shot a pointed look at Mayu, nodding her head at Hoshi. The latter sighed, rolling her azure eyes as she slowly got up, taking care to hide Sasori, who twitched violently under the pillow. She waved at the nurse, dismissing her. The girl nodded once again, shutting the door behind her as she left.

"Back to the house, then," spoke Hoshi, grabbing Sasori with her single arm, and raising an eyebrow at Mayu. "If they make a mess, you're cleaning it up, by the way."

Mayu merely smiled brightly, picking up her backpack gently and patting it, receiving an irritated meow in return. She grabbed Itachi from under the bed, not bothering to clean up the slight mess of bread crumbs, feeling a bit vindictive. She turned to the door, shooing at Hoshi, and sling an arm around her shoulder when they got out of the almost claustrophobic room.

The door shut behind them, with Mayu's loud voice talking away, petting Itachi with one hand, rushing out of the hospital before anyone noticed the cats. The receptionist frowned, trying to peek at the fast-walking girls, but gave up, sighing.

"Oh well."

* * *

**AN: Ta-da! Chapter one (or two) is here! Tell us if it was good or bad; constructive criticism is welcome, flames are not, so don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter II

Recap:_ Mayu merely smiled brightly, picking up her backpack gently and patting it, receiving an irritated meow in return. She grabbed Itachi from under the bed, not bothering to clean up the slight mess of bread crumbs, feeling a bit vindictive. She turned to the door, shooing at Hoshi, and sling an arm around her shoulder when they got out of the almost claustrophobic room._

_The door shut behind them, with Mayu's loud voice talking away, petting Itachi with one hand, rushing out of the hospital before anyone noticed the cats. The receptionist frowned, trying to peek at the fast-walking girls, but gave up, sighing._

"_Oh well."_

* * *

.: II :.

* * *

"Whew, we got out, scot-free!" Mayu exclaimed, wearing a huge grin.

Hoshi merely rolled her eyes at her energetic friend, deciding to not say a word on the fact that the nurse had seen them. She watched as the brunette carefully placed the black cat on the pavement, reaching back for her backpack and unzipping it, only to reveal a very irked looking light blond cat. The raven-haired girl let out a snicker at the expression it had.

"Aw, does kitty not like being stuffed in a cramped bag?" she teased, smirk still on her face.

The cat moved to try and scratch her, but the effort was fruitless because of the distance placed between them. Mayu gently lifted it out from the bag, zipping it shut before she moved to take in the dark cat too. However, this one gently stepped away from the hand that reached for it, as if saying that it didn't want to be carried. The brunette looked slightly offended, but only blinked in confusion, while as Hoshi raised a single eyebrow. The feline only stepped in front of them, giving off the signal that it wanted to walk instead of being carried. Mayu shrugged her shoulders, letting the cat do whatever it wanted, as long as it didn't run away from them.

"You shouldn't tease the cats so much, Hoshi. They'll grow to hate you," Mayu commented as she walked towards her destination, the midnight cat traveling behind.

"Whatever. It's not like I wanted them to stay with me in the first place." The raven shot a look at Mayu, who only giggled softly at the accusation.

"But you have to admit that they're pretty cute," she spoke as she rubbed the yellow-ish cat against her cheek, enjoying the soft feel of fur brushing against her skin.

Hoshi only stared at the girl's antics, already accustomed to them. But what caught her interest the most was the cats and their behavior. The cat suffering from Mayu's affection was looking rather irritated. The weirdest cat was the black one, who acted as if it was…human. These cats had no collars, and they were looking a bit dirty, probably from being in the streets and alleys. So anyone can safely assume that they were alley cats. But if that was so, that where did the black one learn to act so…sophisticated and human for an alley cat? It made no sense to her.

Unless…

They were once house pets and were abandoned by their owner, forced to live the life of a street cat with nowhere else to go. Yes, that made sense. It made a lot of sense, actually, now that Hoshi thought about it. Wrapped in her thoughts, she momentarily forgot about the cat she held in her arm. She tilted her head down to get a better view of the red cat. It was staring back at her. Soon, they were engaged in one of the most fiercest staring contests in the world.

"These are really weird cats…" Hoshi bluntly stated.

"They're the most adorable cats ever!" Mayu ruffled the poor blond kitty's head, who looked to be dizzy from the action.

"A-ah, Mayu, I think you're gonna kill him if you keep doing that." The corner of her lips twitched as she tried to refrain from bursting out laughing in the middle of the streets.

"Ehh?" Mayu ceased all petting and held it up in the air, staring at it with wide grey eyes. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry, kitty!" She brought it close to her chest, smothering it.

By then, Hoshi lost all control and laughter escaped from her throat, ignoring the stares and weird glances she seemed to gain. When she felt something brushing against her bare arm, she looked down, only to see the cat she held trembling, as if it were laughing too. Even the black one had a smirk at its lips. The blond one seemed to freeze for a moment, its eyes wide in surprise. But before Hoshi could think too much of it, the cat yowled and pawed at Mayu, demanding to be set free so that it could breathe again. Hoshi's laughs soon melted into soft chuckling, slightly shaking her head at the brunette.

"Oh Mayu…" The raven's footsteps soon slowed to a stop. "Look, there's the bus stop." She looked towards the aforementioned destination.

"Better put the kitties back before they get lost," Mayu chirped, already making a move for her backpack. The yellow-ish cat was quick to escape her hold, not wanting to be stuffed in there again. He landed delicately on his paws, at least one feet away from the girl. "Aww, kitty, get in the backpack. Why don't you like it?" She pouted.

"Maybe because of the fact that it's stuffy in there and the cats can barely breathe?" Hoshi supplied, earning an agreeing meow from the cat, who was currently avoiding Mayu's attempts to catch it.

"Ohh, right." She grinned as realization dawned on her, then looked back towards the feline who had its light blue eyes narrowed at her. "Okay, kitty, I'll leave some of the zipper unzipped. You'll be able to breathe easier that way. Is that better?"

As if understanding and satisfied, the blond cat stepped towards Mayu, then allowed her to pick him up and place him in the bag. She then looked towards the black cat, who mirrored his company's actions. When it came to the red one, however, he refused to budge. He remained settling in Hoshi's arms, not making any move to jump into the bag.

"What's wrong, kitty's friend?" It seemed to narrow its eyes at Mayu's inquiry, or rather, the title he had been given. She gave it a pleading look, clasping her hands together in a begging gesture. "Pleeeeease? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

It didn't seem to budge.

Hoshi sighed, wondering if this cat was doing this just to spite her. Judging from the snippets of what she's gathered to be his personality and attitude, it seemed highly possible. If it was going to play difficult, then so was she.

"Alright, cat, get in the bag before I stuff you in there."

This earned her a death glare and a lunging cat to her face. But before the cat could fully latch itself onto her, Hoshi managed to pull it away with the help of Mayu.

"Agh, what was that for?" Hoshi hissed, fingers pressing against the bleeding scar she acquired, courtesy of the furious red cat who was held back by the brunette. The three blood red lines scratching across her cheeks were accentuated in contrast of her pale skin tone.

"See, I told you not to tease them or they'll hate you." Mayu sighed, then turned to the cat she held. "Now, now, kitty, that was very mean. Apologize to Hoshi."

The only reaction was that the cat seemed to fume even more. With a few soft meows from the darkest cat who was in the bag, it seemed to have convinced the red one to leap into the bag. The two teenage girls could only blink and wonder what the black cat had said. The bus soon rolled in, stopping in front of them and opening its doors in greeting to let them in. Quickly, Mayu zipped the bag, but only halfway, so that the felines could breathe easily.

"Are you okay, Hoshi?" she asked her friend with concern laced in her voice, turning back to look at her once she was seated.

"Just peachy," the girl remarked as she placed just the right amount for their fee, walking back to Mayu and sitting in an empty seat just next to hers. Though, she kept her distance from the backpack, wary. Noticing this, the owner of it moved the bag so that it was right next to her but further away from the raven.

* * *

Sasori narrowed his eyes at the sniggering Deidara from the farthest corner, away from him. He let out a hiss, warning him that he would initiate the same attack on him if he didn't stop laughing like a moron. This seemed to calm the snickers down, but only barely.

"Shut up, brat."

This only seemed to increase the laughter. "Th-that was too h-hilarious, un! Ahahaha!" The blond was now rolling on his sides from the overdose of mirth.

"I said to _shut up, _did I not?" his partner growled at him, sick of the never ending laughter, directly at _him _no less. Patience was not his strong suit, and he was quickly losing his grasp on whatever patience he had remaining.

"Sasori, they are our caretakers now. We need them to survive. Don't get on their bad side," Itachi instructed the male.

"Yeah, un. You usually don't lash out like that. Why did you do it this time, yeah?" Deidara had ceased all laughter, though a smirk was still evident.

The redhead's gaze fell, ears flattened against his head as he turned his body away from the two. His tail seemed to twitch occasionally, a sign of nervousness. The other two felines could only stare in curiosity at Sasori's behavior. It was extremely rare for him to show this side of him. A vulnerable side.

After what seemed to feel like a year, Sasori finally spoke. "She…reminds me of Hoshi…"

The atmosphere felt like it dropped to subzero. The ex-puppet master was extremely sensitive when it came to the topic of…her, even when he tried his best to put up a strong front. Deidara knew from experience to never bring her up. Ever. He winced painfully at the memory. Itachi only nodded for him to go on, despite the fact that Sasori's back was turned to them, his tail swaying in an entrancing pace.

"Her face…it's…the same as hers … her name, too…" he mumbled softly, as if he didn't want to admit it aloud._ I ____didn't want to look at her and be reminded, __he_ seemed to say with his ears drooping down depressingly.___So I foolishly thought that if I made my mark, she would no longer look like her._

"It only made it worse," the red cat murmured.

Something tugged at his heart, remembering the bleeding scratch he clawed at her face. It reminded him of too much. The painful memories were burning in his skull, as if demanding to be recognized. The way that she reacted, the words she had said, the guilt was tearing at him, that___he _was the one who hurt the one who swore to never let harm touch her.

"Sasori…danna…" His blond partner had made his way next to him, placing a comforting paw on his shoulder. He didn't even brush it off. He felt too numb. Too empty.

Itachi sighed. "I, too, regret her…absence," he paused as he found a better word, looking at Sasori, who was gazing at the bottom of the backpack. "Very much so. But we need to figure out how to turn back into our former selves, Sasori. That, and gain the trust of our caretakers," he softly added. "It would not do us any good to be thrown out on the streets, as that would mean lesser time to turn ourselves back."

Sasori, though still feeling very cold inside, nodded sullenly, looking up with misery in his eyes. "Right." He turned to look at Deidara, who seemed to shrink. Inwardly, the puppet-master chuckled, feeling a little lighter. "Brat, what do you remember of the incident?"

Deidara frowned, sitting up straighter as he racked his memory. "Well, un, I was trying to focus my chakra on Itachi, like Leader-sama told me to, but then _you _butted in with your stupid spiel on eternal art—" Sasori suddenly looked livid, and it was only because of Itachi's pointed look that he repressed the urge to maim him, "and then somehow, my brain zeroed in on you, yeah. I tried to push it away, but I was too late because I had already slammed my hand down thanks to instincts, un."

Itachi let out an almost silent sigh, starting to speak, but his eyes widened as the bag shook violently, grabbing the cloth with his claws. The other two were in the same position, though Deidara was upside down, and barely hanging onto the thick material of the backpack.

"What the hell, un?" he yelped, blue eyes narrowed in irritation.

The voice of the brunette pierced the small silence after his outburst. It was Mayu, noted Sasori. "Sorry kitties," she whispered, bringing the backpack on her lap and opening the zip wider. Itachi felt like slapping his forehead. "But I forgot you guys where in there, and Hoshi had to remind me to move you fellas to the front before I rested my back against the seat, ne, ne. Or else," she grinned, a twinkle in her eyes, "you'd be kitty mush!" Mayu seemed very proud of herself.

"She's crazy, un," remarked Deidara blankly, staring up at the girl with incredulity in his eyes. She titled her head at him, a wide smile still on her face. "Seriously insane, yeah."

"Ooh, Hoshi, Hoshi! He has such pretty eyes!" squealed the brunette, her voice low in caution of the other people on the bus, scratching Deidara's furry light yellow head. He squirmed for a moment, feeling awkward, but eventually settled down, a reluctant yet pleased look in his eyes. Sasori stared at him with disbelief.

"You really _are _house-pet, brat."

"Shut it, Danna, un!" hissed Deidara, rising with his hackles raised, his previously large and kitten-like eyes now slanted into dangerous slits. Mayu sighed, pushing him down easily. "Wha–hey! Watch it, un!" he yowled at her, trying to scratch her hand with a vexed look on his face.

"Hush, Mustard, behave like the other nice kitties!" she scolded, pressing his face into her soft grey-ish jeans. Itachi raised an eyebrow at the scene, amusement twinkling in his eyes. Hoshi, who had been staring out of the window with a look of entertainment plastered on her face, imitated him, her fingers clutching a stained tissue to the three lines on her cheek.

"What, Hoshi?" asked Mayu, directing a questioning gaze at the raven.

"Mustard? Honestly?" said the girl, shaking her head in utter bewilderment. Mayu looked slightly offended.

"Whaaat? It's a perfectly _fine_ name, Miss I-Named-My-Pet-Lizard-Fluffballs!" snapped Mayu with a teasing glint in her lopsided grin. Deidara scowled at her, eradicating the whole point of her sentence. Sasori fought back a snicker, opting to smirk instead, shooting Deidara a smug look.

"Mustard, Mayu. Mustard is not an applicable name for a godforsaken CAT!" Hoshi's voice raised an octave at the last word in bafflement, raising her one arm in emphasis. Sasori winced at the reminder, squeezing his eyes shut. Hoshi turned to him, pointing – looking uncannily like she was accusing a cat of malediction – and adding, ignorant of the irate glares being sent her way by the senior citizens on the bus. "See? Even the demon cat agrees!" Sasori snapped his eyes open, hissing at her. "Oh, stop hissing at me, you…ball of fluff! You'll turn into a snake if you keep it up!" snapped Hoshi, sneering. Mayu sniggered loudly from beside her, waving an arm at the annoyed people surrounding them.

"Ah, gomen, gomen, my friend here is a bit too vocal at times!" she smiled innocently. When she deemed it okay, Mayu whipped her head around, nearly smacking Hoshi in the face with her long ponytail, laughing quietly. "Really, Hoshi? Threatening a cat? Such a cute kitty too," cooed Mayu, rubbing Sasori's head with admiration. "His fur is so soft! I'd have thought he used some kind of shampoo if I didn't know cats couldn't use that stuff."

Hoshi smothered the urge to smack her friend, choosing to hit her head against the seat in front of her. Mayu winced. "Mayu, honestly."

Mayu rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Erm, right. So, no Mustard, pretty kitty?" she asked the cat, looking rather stupid. To her surprise, the kitten nodded vehemently, squinting its eyes. "...Sora!" she yelped, jumping in her seat and amazingly not drawing attention to herself.

Itachi let loose a breath, feeling like he was somehow babysitting his otouto. "How loud …" he muttered, turning his head and staring out of the window. There were strange sights passing by; the light source, which was a queer gray stick, rising very high up, with light shining from the top; several large buildings that touched the sky, with glass all over them, looking like a very largely updated Amegakure. There were also many more of vehicles, many small and others gigantic and carrying a plethora of different things, like furniture or chemicals or huge hollow tubes. "Very interesting," mused Itachi, making Sasori look at him. "They do not seem to have things like chakra— that must be why they have these…curious…vehicles."

Deidara snorted rudely. "Duh, we noticed, un." Itachi shot him a light glare. "Alright, alright, yeah! No need to get your senbon up your butt!"

Mayu suddenly gasped. "Noir! We can call the cute black one Noir." The Uchiha groaned softly, pawing her with a hand, feeling utterly disgusting and degraded from his high perch.

"Noir…sounds very sophisticated. Perfect for the ice cube of a cat." Hoshi told her with just as much ice in her voice, subconsciously grabbing Sasori and petting him. "Eh, yeah, the fur _is _really soft!" she admitted, a small grin on her face. Sasori twinged at the scary similarities between his Hoshi and this one, then mentally scolded himself for claiming Hoshi as his. They both changed moods in an instant, not to mention they also had a bad temper at times. "We could name this one…Scarlet."

Mayu clapped, unceremoniously dumping Itachi on her lap and hugging him. "Yeah! It suits him, with his crabby temper and what not! Though, isn't it a girl's name?" she spoke tactlessly, her face having a bright visage. "Eh, who cares. So, it's Scarlet, Sora and Noir, huh? Nice."

Hoshi nodded. She abruptly stood up, cradling the slight ticked off Sasori in one hand. "We're here. C'mon, let's go." Mayu imitated her friend's action, slinging her backpack over a shoulder and picking up the other two kittens as she followed the raven-haired girl off the bus, waving enthusiastically at the bored driver. He nodded as a silent farewell, gesturing for her to get off quickly. Mayu twitched in pique, gritting her teeth and flouncing off.

"Lousy driver! See if I ever be nice to you again!" she huffed, stomping over to Hoshi, who looked too amused to be polite.

Deidara laughed, smirking all the while. "She is strange," spoke Itachi. "Almost like a little child."

The red kitten slash puppet-master rolled his eyes, grimacing. "She's like a second Deidara, but with that fool, Tobi, added in."

Hoshi shook her head, walking up the road to their apartment building, the sliding doors opening immediately, Mayu scurrying behind her. Itachi's eyes held a curious glint to them. "Thank heavens that they allow pets in here, or I would've been fined or something."

The raven grunted, advancing towards the elevator door. Seeing as how her only arm was occupying Sasori, she couldn't push the buttons to it. She was about to call Mayu for help before getting an idea, more out of curiosity than anything. Looking at the cat she held, she wondered if she was slowly beginning to lose her sanity for coming up with something like this.

"Oi, demon ca—_Scarlet_," she corrected herself after the growling issuing from said cat, "how about you make yourself useful and open the elevator? Use your paw and push that button right over there." She gestured towards the button right next to the doors of the elevator, bringing him up closer so he could manage the task.

To her surprise, Sasori complied with no complaints, and managed to do the job swiftly. She gawked at the male cat, and so did her companion. Maybe her earlier assumption of these cats once being household pets was right. Once the elevator managed to travel down to the lobby, the doors opened with a sharp "ding!" Hoshi didn't miss the abrupt jump at the loud sound from the cat she held in her arm. For what felt like the fifth time, she arched her brow at her pet's weird behavior.

"Aww, does that hurt your ears, Sora?" Hoshi heard Mayu's voice cooing the blond cat, whose paws was against his ears, burying himself in Mayu as if to escape from the loud ringing. Noir kept his composure, though no one could miss the way his ears twitched. "Oh, look, Noir's ears are twitching!" she exclaimed, trying to pet his ears. He flinched, ducking.

"It's as if they've never heard an elevator before," the single-armed girl commented as she stepped inside, the brunette trailing behind her, still trying unsuccessfully to pet the black cat. Hoshi sighed at her antics.

"Well, they _are _alley cats, silly. Unless you've forgotten."

With both their hands full, Hoshi decided to let Sasori push the buttons again, to make things easier for Mayu, who was holding two of the furballs. "Scarlet, think you can press the button for the seven floor?" Scarlet gave her an incredulous look, but did his task nonetheless. "I don't think so, Mayu," the raven-haired girl ignored the look and stared at her friend, who in turn, stared back.

"What?"

"Nothing, just that they're way too…smart, to be alley cats, don'tcha think?" She held up Sasori as if to prove her point, who was looking more and more irked each time the elevator gave a light ding every time they passed a floor.

"You have a point." Mayu's voice was light and soft, indicating that she was giving it some thought. "Or maybe we just got lucky and got ourselves some smart cats!" She beamed as she held up the two in her arms.

Hoshi could only sigh at her friend. Just then, the elevator gave an even louder "ding!", telling them that they were at their destination. As the two girls left the elevator and made their way towards the door of their apartment, Deidara glared daggers at the elevator. Mayu bent down, letting the blond and black cats touch the ground before standing upright again, fishing in her pockets for something. When she felt what she wanted, she pulled it out, revealing jingling keys. She smirked abruptly, shaking the keys in front of Noir, who gave her a look of disbelief.

"... What?" said Mayu, shuffling over to the door, shrugging off Hoshi's raised eyebrow. "That cat is way too stiff, I tell you!" Sliding the key into the keyhole, she turned, then pushed the door open, revealing their apartment.

"We're home, kitties!"

* * *

**AN: How was it? :D We know you people are reading this, so review galore! Constructive crit is welcome, flames will be used to fuel Itachi-chan's Katon jutsus. :3 **


	4. Chapter III

Recap: _Mayu bent down, letting the blond and black cats touch the ground before standing upright again, fishing her pockets for something. When she felt what she wanted, she pulled it out, revealing jingling keys. Sliding the key into the keyhole, she turned, then pushed the door open, revealing their apartment. _

"_We're home~"_

. | | .

_Red spilled on pale white, ruining what used to be perfect skin. Huge, wide cerulean eyes stared back at trembling mocha orbs. The owner of the latter could only stare in horror at what–or rather,__who__–laid in front of him, feeling a shudder creep along his whole system. Crimson dyed the whole scene, most of it coloring her body, especially from that painful gash, seemingly laughing at his despair from where it rested on her pale stomach. Throughout all his years of witnessing gore and more than half of them being executed by his own hands, he never felt more sicker than at this moment._

_"__H-Hoshi…" he whispered, voice cracking as he leaned in and reached out a trembling hand for her._

_"__Sas…ori…" she croaked in response, mirroring his action. Her ruby stained lips curled in a smile, a peaceful one, the one she always reserved for him and him only. Suddenly, she lunged forward from her lying position on the ground just a few seconds ago, her hands grasped tightly around Sasori's neck. Her eyes were wide open, in an almost maniacal way, with her face scrunched up in anger. "Sasori!" she screeched, repeating his name, this time, in a much more insane manner._

_The redhead's eyes grew in panic, unable to process what was going on. "H-Ho…shi…" He managed to choke out after a few broken attempts, feeling his throat being crushed under the pressure._

_She held him up by his throat, gripping it even tighter, so that he could fully feel the effects of her hatred for him, narrowing her eyes until they were mere slits._

_"__You…" she hissed, venom dripping from her voice. "This is all your fault. You're the reason I died, you bastard." The fingers dug into his skin, drawing drips of crimson, matching his hair. "How could you let me die? Sasori?" Her screech touched a higher octave at his name._

_The puppet master's face contorted in a grimace of pain, growling as he clenched his teeth to resist from screaming. He didn't even bother to stop her. All the words she spoke of were true. She should just kill him on the spot. He deserved it._

_"__How could you let the person you love__die?__You're a monster. This is__all__your fault."_

"Ow!" an all too familiar voice yelped.

"H-Hoshi? What happened?" came another voice, this one softer and sweeter than the first.

"That–that–demon cat!" the girl fumbled for words.

In an instant, all images faded to black, until he slowly blinked open his eyes to blurry figures. As his vision cleared, he could make out Hoshi and a brunette, who was holding the former's wrist gently, as if one wrong move would break it. Grudgingly, he looked around, unfamiliar surroundings trapping him. He was about to reach for his poisonous senbon, hidden in his clothing, before the memories from the past few hours–or was it days? Sasori couldn't tell–came crashing against his head, feeling like a massive hangover. A groan resonated from his hoarse throat as he put his paws against his bashing skull, crouching down in pain.

"W-what? What about Scarlet?" Mayu asked, wanting to get details of what happened.

"He scratched me! And I was just petting him, too." Sasori heard a huff. "He looked as if he was having trouble sleeping so I decided to comfort him by petting him, and _this_ happened."

Curious as to what '_this'_ was, he lifted his head so that he could get a clear view of what Hoshi was talking about, only to see blood painting the girl's wrists in three slick cuts. Regret and guilt engulfed his poor, small feline body, the dream—no, _nightmare_, rushing back to him. Something sick began churning inside of his stomach.

He groaned again, leaning back down as if it hurt too much to be in any other position. Out of nowhere, in the midst of coldness, he felt warmth. Warmth that was enveloping him and his whole body. And a hand that was gently caressing his soft, furry body, comforting him. He blinked open his big cat eyes, wondering why Mayu was doing this after he had just hurt her best friend. When he looked up to examine her expression, he was utterly shocked into speechlessness when he saw that it was not Mayu, but Hoshi instead. Her scowl from earlier had melted into a soft expression that looked full of…guilt?

"Hoshi?" The ex-human heard the brunette softly call to her.

_Why…are you looking at me like that?_ Sasori only curled into a tighter ball, shielding him from the rest of the world, from _her_. I'm _the one who hurt you,_ I'm _the one who feels guilty. So why…why are you being so kind as to smile at me?_

_I don't deserve this warmth. I don't deserve you._

. | | .

When the cat seemed to have been quavering some more, the raven brought it closer to her chest, providing more warmth. A light smile touched her lips as she continued to pet the feline, a touch of guilt etched into her expression. Her smile grew as did her feeling of regret.

"I shouldn't have said that, ne?" Her voice was as soft as her petting. Scarlet seemed to have calmed down a bit from her touch, the quivering lessening, although not by much, she noted.

"It wasn't your fault, Hoshi." Mayu tried to comfort her friend, placing a hand on hers.

The raven looked up to meet compassionate grey eyes, a frowning pulling across her lips. "If it's not my fault, then whose is it?"

"It's no one's fault," she insisted, pouting stubbornly, not wanting to get into this argument.

Blue eyes fell back on the red cat, who was resembling the very thing Hoshi thought it was; a furball. "Is that so…?"

"Yes, yes it is. Stop worrying over what you're doing. You're already calming him down. He probably knows better than not to hurt you anymore, so stop fretting over it."

Hoshi could only sigh at this, not knowing what to say. For a moment, her hand stopped brushing against the soft, red orange coat. Scarlet's head jerked up, then stared at Hoshi with an incredulous look, ears twitching. She returned it with a stare of her own, raising one curious brow at this abrupt change in behavior. Shaking his head, he quickly jumped off of her lap, walking away to get as far away from her as possible.

"…What…?" the girl managed to say only a few seconds after the cat disappeared inside a room, probably to nap or explore or something. Maybe to just get away from her. "Do cats hate me or some shit?"

Mayu offered a small laugh, focused on the direction of where Scarlet had run off to. "Nah, I think Scarlet was just feeling _too_ loved. Ne?" She smiled, scratching Noir behind the ear as he stared blankly ahead to the television hanging on the pale brown wall, the apartment looking extremely homey and comfortable. "Just smothering the cat with love!" sighed Mayu dramatically, her pats now making Noir's head bounce up and down. The cat looked extremely irritated.

Hoshi rolled her cerulean eyes, nodding towards the hissing black cat; Mayu gaped, apologizing profusely to the cat and squeezing the life out of him. He lay limp, his eyes narrowed, daring the other kitten to laugh – which, ironically, it was. At least that was what the two girls were seeing.

"Mayu, you're strangling the cat," remarked Hoshi nonchalantly, getting up to make some coffee, tapping Sora on the noise as she did so. Sora twitched his pink nose, frowning. "Aw, this one is definitely the most well-behaved one after Noir."

Mayu smirked. "Growing a soft spot, are we?" She unlatched herself from Noir, setting him down next to Sora; the yellow-ish kitty jumped away from the dark furball, narrowly avoiding a swipe. Mayu raised an eyebrow at the normally calm and collected kitten. "Er … you okay, kitty?" It gave her a blank stare. "Uh, right. I think I'll come with you to make some coffee, Hoshi ..."

_It's creeping me out,_ she thought internally, shuddering.

. | | .

Itachi let out a relieved–and silent–sigh as the bright girl, Mayu, left. He did not like being hugged to death. It was uncomfortable and not to mention, he preferred staying away from affectionate things, cat or not. It had been stomped out of him when he had been forced to murder his clan, save Sasuke. _Sasuke._ The reason why he had joined the Akatsuki, why he had become a missing-nin, and above all, fought his illness. But the latter had completely disappeared, to his shock and slight relief. No more did his bones ache or his head spin agonizingly. Even his eyes felt brand new. Itachi was thankful for that, but he dreaded the meeting with his otouto, knowing how much Sasuke would grow in his for hate him by then.

He shook off his feelings, turning to see the blond human-turned-cat staring at him with a strange look in his eyes.

"What's wrong with you, un?" he asked, frowning. He padded over, plopping down in front of him with his fluffy tail twitching. If Itachi had been more emotional, he would have smiled at the … ugh … _adorable_ … sight. "Hell, what's wrong with Danna, too, yeah? Everyone is acting so damn weird now, un!" he whined, letting his face fall on the soft couch. Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Stop acting so melodramatically, Deidara. Go and find Sasori, now that you're at it." His own shiny and sleek tail pointed at the direction where Sasori had sprinted off to. 'Sora' glared at him. Itachi only raised an eyebrow at the glare, as if beckoning him to elaborate.

"You _know_ how Danna gets when he's pissed off or depressed, right, un?" snapped Deidara, wondering if the Uchiha was really that cruel and anti-social as to push him to Sasori's short-tempered and irritated aura. Itachi shrugged carelessly.

"Asshole, un..." he murmured, flouncing off the couch and ignoring the sudden chill that had crept up the room. Deidara quickly hurried behind the two girls, his eyes holding a sort-of childlike curiosity, glancing at every object he passed. It was all new and strange to him; this world was certainly very, _very_ different from their own. For instance, he hadn't felt any chakra from the people around him, besides the Uchiha and Sasori-no-danna.

When he finally found the two girls, they were busy making coffee and the other girl, Mayu, was dropping some brown stone-like mush in three bowls.

"Where did you get the cat food from, anyway?" Hoshi asked, looking up from the coffee maker.

Mayu shrugged, yelping as a few of the crumbles fell onto the counter. "The nice lady next door gave me some a few months ago, when her cat died. It's not expired, don't worry," she added at Hoshi's horrorstruck look.

She let out of a breath of air that she didn't know she was even holding in."Thank _God,_ Mayu. If the cats died under my watch, I'd have poisoned you or something," muttered Hoshi, grabbing two cups and pouring the hot mix in, stirring them quickly. Mayu felt beads of sweat form on her forehead, and hastily picked up the three bowls and ran from the kitchen, pausing to nudge Sora with her foot.

"Get outta the kitchen, kitty, or she'll punt you!" whispered Mayu, a mock-horror look on her lightly tanned face. Deidara's eyes widened and he scrambled to get away from the kitchen, doing an impressive jump and landing on the couch, right next to Itachi–who gave him an uninterested glance–and Sasori, who looked up from his curled up position.

"Why are you running life a buffoon, brat?" Sasori asked in a dry tone, flicking his tail lazily. Deidara did not answer him, too busy looking around.

Suddenly, a blaring blast of music came from the kitchen. Mayu, clutching and balancing three bowls precariously, raised an eyebrow, then an abrupt grin crept up her face.

"I'm feelin' sexy and free!" she loudly sung, now dancing around the room. The three Akatsuki stared at her in disbelief and slightly amusement. "Like glitter's raining on me!"

"Mayu, _shut up_!" came Hoshi's roar from the kitchen. "I don't want you to spoil the whole song, twit!"

Mayu smirked happily, setting down the bowls in front of the cats – on the floor, though, obviously – and petting Scarlet as she sat down on the couch next to them. "Pfft!" she replied back, grabbing a thin black contraption and pressing a button on it, pointing it at the television. It sprung to life, displaying an animal documentary.

"Eh … have they got anything good on?" asked Hoshi, plugging in a wire to her iPod and leaving one earplug off. Sasori's eyes flickered towards her, looking up from his bowl, only to switch his gaze at anything but her just as quick. Itachi and Deidara had already finished (though, Itachi had eaten more politely) and were looking intently at the screen.

"Nah. Lemme switch over to … AHA! Boomerang, yeah, yeah!" she exclaimed happily, setting the remote beside her, watching the moving pictures enthusiastically.

" … What the fuck is that, un?" asked Deidara in blatant bewilderment, watching a pseudo-cat with blue-ish fur chase a brown mouse.

Itachi mentally pinched the bridge of his nose. "Idiots." Suddenly, Mayu gasped loudly.

"Let's plug in my PS2, ne?" She had an exuberant smile on her face, and Hoshi rolled her eyes. "Kingdom Hearts part two! Here I come!"

"What the devil is she playing?" Sasori inquired after a while had passed.

Hoshi laid on the other side of the couch, eyes wide as she followed the screen. The boy with the 'keyblade' was currently trying to hit a large silver monster. Sasori was stumped, and wondered if this was the regular entertainment for the people of this world. Such morons.

"A sequel of sorts, yeah." Deidara was engrossed with watching the game, very interested in it. "Ooh, look, Danna, the kid backflipped in midair!" Sasori rolled his eyes, none-too-gently swatting him on the head.

"Brat, you are a moron."

"Shut it, Danna, un!" he hissed, swatting him back without taking his eyes off the screen. Itachi was now asleep, laying in next to Hoshi as she petted his fur. Sasori felt a small bubbling of fire in his stomach at the sight, but turned away. It wasn't his Hoshi; his Hoshi was dead. He winced, curling up and trying to fake his sleep, for once wishing he could ask Deidara to knock him out for a while. But he was too proud, and if the brat did knock him out, it would seem odd and investigation-worthy to their 'caretakers.' He contented himself with closing his eyes, trying to fall asleep.

But sleep wouldn't come.

Even after what felt like hours. He let out an aggravated sigh, which earned him a curious Deidara who was now walking this way towards him. He mentally groaned, wondering if there were any medicine to stop him from the on-coming headache he was feeling. Seeing as how there was no escape, he simply laid there, his head down with eyes half open.

"What, brat?"

The other merely sat there, swaying his tail back and forth as he stared at his danna, grating his patience. Shouldn't he of all people know the fact that he didn't like to be kept waiting?

"Are you okay, Danna?" the blond cat asked, peering at him curiously.

"No." Sasori's tone was doused in annoyance. "Why would I be when you're here irritating me?"

Deidara visibly flinched at the harshness. It was not hard to see that Sasori was usually like this, after all, Deidara would know, since he was his partner and all. But this time, it held a sharp edge to it. And after their time together, the blond came to know this as a sign of when his danna was _really_ troubled.

"…Danna, it's not hard to see that something's bothering you, un."

The ex-puppet master only exhaled a breath. "And that something is you."

This only made Deidara frown, his tail moving in a faster rhythm now. Why did he always insisting that nothing was wrong and trying to push him away? He should know by now that Deidara would help him with whatever was wrong. But he didn't voice these feelings aloud. All he said was, "Danna, that really hurts, yeah."

The red cat looked as if he wanted to say something, silently debating on whether or not to let those words out. In the end, he only closed his eyes for a few seconds before completely shutting out the world around him.

"…Be like that, un." Deidara got up from his sitting position, sneering at the attitude of his 'superior'. He turned his back on Sasori, about to go settle next to Mayu and watch the girls play the game, whatever it is. Before he walked out, he only sighed, "Why are you so stubborn, hm?"

When he was sure that the younger male was gone, he only let out another sigh, staring at the fur of his paws dejectedly, his thoughts bringing pain, writhing in his small body.

How much pain can such a small body hold, he mused.

* * *

_MysticShadowDemon: _Mystic here. Yes, I'm finally alive. Yay. I hope you guys are enjoying this story _Ahuze_ and I are writing. We're having fun doing this, and we hope you guys are, too. Thank you all who have supported us by reading, favoriting, alerting, and reviewing. See ya next Sunday.


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